0

I love Greek salads, they are easy, tasty and healthy. I often will eat one as a full meal but I know my bf is always looking for something a little more substantial so I came up with this powered up version. What I like about this is that you can prepare the beans days ahead and let then marinate in the fridge and they just get better over time. It reminds me of the three bean salad idea that my mother used to make, does anyone know what I am talking about or was that just popular in my household? Let me know what you think. Serves 2

Use everything organic whenever possible
2 tomatoes chopped
1 English cucumber cubed
1 small sweet onion diced – I like my onion pieces quite small
6 TBSP of sliced olives – I prefer this because you get more olives in each bite & the calories are less.
4 TBSP of low fat feta cheese
Mix together in a mixing bowl.

1.5 cups of cooked garbanzo beans. You can buy them in a can but I always soak mine and I prefer this as it is easy to do. I soak over night in lots of water so that they can expand, I drain them and rinse them and put in boiling water with 1-2 tsp of baking soda. The baking soda is key and helps give them a softer fluffier texture. Google this to see what I mean.

Dressing: I put all of this into my Isablender and it chops the garlic for me & whips it into a nice frothy dressing.
3 TBSP of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBSP of good quality olive oil
4 cloves of garlic minced. I like garlic so some people might find this too much.
1 TBSP of fresh oregano if you have it, if not, then used dried.
pepper to taste
If you have the time, marinate the beans overnight in this dressing, then the next day mix the beans and dressing into the vegetables. If I have kale or lettuce that needs to be used, I will make a base of that in each large bowl and then put the mixture over top. This is a one dish meal. If you are using kale, de-bone the stem and chop the leaves into ribbons & massage the dressing into the leaves with your hands.

Total calories per serving: 350-400
Wait 20 minutes after eating to know if you truly are hungry for more. If you are, then eat, if not but you still want to eat, go for a walk, have a cup of herbal tea, have an Isadelight or do all three!